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What’s it like to do an occupational therapy degree apprenticeship?

National Apprenticeship Week 2024

RCOT
02 February 2024

photo of apprentice Helen Smith
Happy National Apprenticeship Week! We caught up with Helen Smith, a newly qualified occupational therapist who completed an apprenticeship with Coventry University last summer. Helen shares what doing an apprenticeship involves and tells us her top tips. 
 
Congratulations on qualifying as an OT! Tell us about what you’re doing now. 
I work rotationally for North West Anglia Foundation trust working with adult inpatients. The specialities covered in my rotations are stroke, critical care, surgery, medicine, trauma and orthopaedics and stroke. My role varies from day to day on these wards whether it’s equipment provision or functional assessments.  

 

What did being an occupational therapy apprentice involve doing? 
I attended university and completed on the job learning. When completing the apprenticeship it was essential that I was organised, ensuring I was allowing enough time in between work commitments to complete the study demands of the course and rest.  

 

What did you enjoy most about being an apprentice? 
I enjoyed learning about the scope of the profession through conversations with my peers which gave me unique and invaluable insight into how diverse our role is from setting to setting. I had the opportunity to work rotationally as an apprentice within my work setting and complete competencies as I progressed through the course.  
 
As a result, when I became a registered professional I was able to work autonomously with a case load with regular supervisions. Whilst there was still a transitional phase between student and registered professional, the opportunity to learn on the job made the transition less daunting.  

 

How did being an RCOT member help you through your apprenticeship? 
Having access to online resources as well as CPD events was really helpful. I found the OTnews publication invaluable through examples of practice regarding different topics. I was able to review the resources and consider how these transferred into practice or how these could be applied. 

 

What advice would you give to someone about to start their apprenticeship journey? 
I would definitely recommend attending the university taster days if you get the opportunity. This will help you to navigate your way around campus when you start, and you’ll be able to meet some of the other people on the course.  
 

There are some fantastic free resources online to help with writing. I personally completed this free writing course prior to starting my degree in preparation - Study skills | OpenLearn - Open University.  

When completing studies, time management is key. While it’s important to manage the demands around study it is also important to make sure you allow yourself time to recharge so you can be more productive with your studies.  

 

Join RCOT to support your apprenticeship journey

Find out more about occupational therapist degree apprenticeships in England. 

To gain full benefit from the learning you’ll undertake during your apprenticeship journey, consider becoming a member of RCOT. Select our Associate Apprenticeship membership to receive the same membership benefits as associate members (support workers), at the price of student membership. Our membership offer gives you excellent benefits to support you through your journey.